Summary: Beth's curiosity gets the best of her when it comes to this handsome redneck that shows up at the family farm. She has a hard time resisting him and needs to know more about him. Daryl and Beth end up with undeniable connection that neither of them can ignore starting back at the farm.

So basically this is my twist on what could have happened back in season 2. Some details will be changed around for the sake of the plot. Beth doesn't really believe that there will be a cure and she's not as innocent and shy as some may think. Beth is still underage so if that bothers you, I would advise you not to read because, yes, there will be smut. Because it's impossible for me to write a story without it ;)

—

You could say that Beth was more than curious about Daryl. The very moment that she saw him drive towards the house on his motorcycle, she knew that her uncontrollable curiosity would get the best of her. But that's what happened when a guy rode up on a noisy bike in the middle of the apocalypse and took out a crossbow, clearly skilled with using it. She couldn't help but be fascinated by him. She could instantly tell that he was different from the rest of the group who had rode up to the family farm.

She liked different.

In the time that they had been at the farm, Beth had watched as Daryl would go off by himself and do whatever he pleased, away from the group he had traveled to the farm with. He was a man of mystery to her. She often wondered what he did half the time that he was by himself, what he thought about.

He was more closed off than the rest. She could tell that there was an underlying reason behind it, one that was not openly shared. She wanted to know why, wanted to know everything about him for some reason that she could not place her finger on. Daryl intrigued her like no other had ever done before.

See the thing is that Beth was wildly attracted to Daryl. Something about once glance in his direction made her skin crawl with excitement and occasionally goose bumps would even appear. Her heart raced if he was in the same room as her. Even the sound of his low and gruff voice made the butterflies in her stomach go crazy. All she wanted to do was stare at him all day long.

They had barely interacted since he had been at the farm. Beth had not said more than a grand total of five words to him directly. She would have liked to have said more but found that she didn't have much to say. There were no excuses for her to use to get him into a conversation, though she had a feeling that he was not the chatty type. His introverted nature tipped her off on that.

But that was something that they had in common. Beth, too, thought of herself as an introvert. She loved nothing more than to be holed up in her room with a good book for hours on end, away from people and away from any noise. She enjoyed time alone; liked being in her own head. People often thought that she was shy, but she really was not. Beth opted to stay quiet because she liked to observe more than interact.

So instead of striking up some dreaded and pointless small talk, Beth watched Daryl from a distance, stealing glances whenever she could. He was so beautiful, in her opinion. His lean muscles, those blue eyes, and tall stature. She was infatuated with him, despite not really knowing him, as crazy as that sounded. She knew that he was much older than her but she couldn't care less about that. It only added to the allure.

In the little time that he had been on the farm, Beth had advanced from normal farm girl to Daryl Dixon stalker practically overnight. He never really seemed to notice when she stared at him though. Only a few times had she looked over to find that his eyes were on her already before he had quickly averted them somewhere else, which spiked her interest further.

Maybe the attraction was not one-sided.

But that was just a hopeful guess for now.

It was early morning and Beth watched from the kitchen window as Daryl's arm muscles moved when grabbed up his crossbow and headed away from Dale, who had these crazy eyes going on as he observed Daryl trudge off. Daryl headed off in the direction of the stables and Beth pondered if he was going to hijack one of their horses without asking and go off in search of Carol's little girl.

Her heart warmed at the thought of him being so caring, even if he didn't recognize it himself. Daryl was a man of many layers.

"You're staring," Andrea said, catching Beth in her gaze out the kitchen window as her head followed Daryl's advances towards the stables.

Beth sighed as she dried one of the clean plates that Andrea handed over to her. "I can't help it. He's gorgeous," she admitted, the words slipping out. She didn't really care about the confession. She was more than willing to have her desires be known.

Andrea snorted and went back to rinsing off the dishes that had piled up. Somehow they both had gotten stuck with kitchen duty that morning.

"What?"

Andrea looked over at her as if Beth had just told her that she had escaped from a mental institution. "Daryl Dixon? You think Daryl is…gorgeous?"

"Yes," she shamelessly replied. "So handsome."

This time Andrea laughed out of loud, getting some of the bubbles on her shirt as she cracked up at whatever seemed to be so funny to her. Beth grabbed the plate out of her hands before she dropped it onto the ground.

"I'm glad you think it's so hilarious, Andrea."

Andrea took a moment to compose herself. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't be laughing." She turned around on her heels and leaned her back up against the kitchen sink, her hands gripping the edge. "He just doesn't seem like the kind of guy you would find attractive, that's all. I mean, it's Daryl that we are talking about here. Would've thought he would have scared you off by now with his less than charming attitude and shut down personality. "

"You don't think he's handsome?" Beth questioned. It was kind of hard for her to believe that she did not think the same way that Beth did.

Andrea gave her another look, similar to the one before. "Um, no. Daryl is Daryl. I don't know what to tell you. He's got a temper and an attitude that would drive anyone crazy."

Beth stared into the sink full of soapy water and thought about what Andrea had told her. Surely, there was a reason behind this so called temper and attitude and no one had bothered to try and understand where it was coming from. She had seen it appear a few times during his stay at the farm, but not enough to come to a definitive conclusion about what caused the two traits to seemingly come out of the blue. In most cases, it looked like he had been provoked or metaphorically backed into a corner for his naturally quieter nature to turn into the opposite.

These people must be oblivious to the fact that Daryl didn't just wake up and decide to let his temper flare or an attitude to be brought forth. She knew there was no way that he was constantly like that. If he was that guy then how could anyone explain him being out and about trying to look for Sophia day after day? Obviously, the guy had a heart and he cared.

And obviously no one noticed that.

People were always so quick to pick up on the bad stuff rather than the good.

And truth be told, Beth didn't mind that Daryl had a bit of a temper or an attitude. In fact, she kind of liked that, too. Another thing she could add to the list of qualities she found interesting about him.

Andrea let out a short giggle before she picked up a dirty dish and put it under the faucet with some soap. "Listen, if you want to crush on Daryl, you go right ahead. He's a pain in the ass if you ask me. I feel like I need to tell you that he's not exactly friendly. And no wonder when his brother is the way he is."

Beth perked up. "He has a brother?"

Andrea's mouth popped open before she snapped it shut quickly. She ran some more water under the plates and handed another one over to Beth to dry. She absently ran the dish towel over the soaked plate, otherwise interested in what Andrea was about to say about Daryl's brother. It was another piece of information that Beth would be able to have on Daryl.

"His brother," Beth urged.

"Daryl's brother, Merle, was not a great guy," she explained, lowering her voice before she turned to look at Beth. "Between me and you, we had to leave Merle in Atlanta handcuffed to a rooftop because he got so out of control and was a threat to us all. Rick, Daryl, T-Dog, and Glenn all went back for him later but when they got there was nothing but a hand left behind."

Beth scrunched up her face. "A hand?"

Andrea simply nodded, sharing the disgust. "Cut it off himself before anyone got to him. Then he took off. We don't know where he is now. Not even the slightest clue where he would have gone." Andrea looked over her shoulder to make sure that no one else was in the room. "Let's hope it stays that way."

"Sounds like Daryl is better off without him then," Beth stated honestly.

"Believe me, he is."

Beth and Andrea finished up cleaning the dishes and putting them away until they would be used next.

"Hey, thanks for tellin' me about Daryl's brother and what happened when you were in Atlanta. Thanks for trusting me with the information I guess is what I should really be sayin'. My dad wouldn't be too happy if he knew about that."

Andrea grinned at her. "I do trust you enough to keep it a secret."

Beth smiled. Everyone trusted her with their secrets. She didn't know why they did but she liked that people felt comfortable enough around her to spill out confidential information that certain other individuals should not be made aware of (aka her father). There was no way she would tell him about the handcuffing Merle to a roof story. He already had some reservations about the new group on their farm, and she was not going to give him any reason to make him doubt their presence.

"What was Atlanta like?"

Andrea let out a gloomy sigh. "Horrible," she relayed, turning to Beth. "There was nothing left of it."

How sad. An entire once populous and thriving city gone.

Why did this even happen? She doubted anyone would ever know with the way the world was now. Maybe they didn't want to know how this all started. Perhaps it was best left unknown.

She went back to thinking about Daryl, a happier subject to her. She wanted to know who this mysterious, crossbow wielding guy was. From her own observations and Andrea's descriptions of his demeanor, he sounded like a real challenge.

Maybe she was up for the challenge.

—

Beth heard the shotgun go off in the distance. It startled her enough that she dropped the book that was in her hands and let it fall into her lap with a jolt. She immediately threw her legs over her bed and raced over to her window. She couldn't see anything from that angle, but she heard Rick's voice scream, "No!"

Oh, God.

Beth unhinged the latches on her bedroom window to unlock them as fast as she could, pushing the window upwards as it squeaked from not being opened in so long. She yanked the outer screen that acted as a barrier to keep bugs out of the house from its place and tossed it onto the floor. Beth then stuck her head and shoulders outside of the window, her hands firmly planted on the window sill. She tilted her head in the direction the noise had come from, letting her ponytail align vertically with the ground below.

That's when she saw the horror.

Her eyes went wide as she saw the figures of Rick and Shane dragging Daryl's body towards the house as Glenn pointed to something around Daryl's neck, only to have Rick tear it off him and toss it onto the ground beside him.

Her heart dropped out of her chest.

Beth pulled herself back into the house, careful not to hit her head as she retracted backwards, and yelled, "Daddy!"

Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she ran through the house to find her father.

"What is it?"

Her father came around the corner in a hurry, a look of extreme concern on his face. "It's Daryl!" she yelled, not realizing how loud she was. "I think he's been shot!"

His eyes widened, observing her panicked state. "Quick, Bethy. Go get my supplies ready in the other room."

Beth only nodded before she took off in the opposite direction to get her father's medical tools. Beth assumed that her father meant one of the guest bedrooms that had virtually been left untouched for some time. She opened the door to the bedroom right next to hers so she could easily get through the door with the arm full of supplies she needed to go get.

She snatched up all the supplies needed in two trips and dropped them all onto a table she cleared with the side of her arm, pushing the few books that were originally on it to the floor. She then pulled the table across the room and next to the bed. Her shaky hands arranged the medical supplies more neatly alongside the rubbing alcohol before she rushed into the bathroom that was adjacent to the room and threw open the closet door, taking out a number of towels.

She crossed back into the hallway, hearing the front door swing open and heavy feet thud against the floorboards.

"Oh my gosh," she heard her sister proclaim from below. "What in the world happened?"

Beth hurried back into the room to set down the towels. She threw off the comforter that was on top of the bed and stripped it of the blanket that was layered on as well so all that was left was the pillows and the sheets.

Her father came in and inspected the work she had done. "Alright, put him in here," he instructed to the men who carried Daryl.

She got a glimpse of Daryl as he was dragged into bedroom and then laid down onto the bed, now unconscious. She was shocked by the amount of blood and dirt that covered his limp body and clothes. She was horrified by how beat up he looked.

"Daddy, you can fix him right?"

Even her voice was shaky, much like her hands.

He examined Daryl. "It's not as bad as it looks, Beth, don't you worry. It's just a graze to the head. I'll do my best," he replied. "Now I need everyone but Rick out of here so I can get started. I can't have a crowded room."

Only when Shane began to exit did she start to go as well. She looked back when she heard her dad say, "Now, what do we have here?"

She had turned to see Daryl's shirt lifted up to the middle of his stomach and what her father had referred to was the larger wound that was dripping with blood from Daryl's side.

"You sure you don't need me?" Beth asked. She wanted to stay to make sure that Daryl was going to be okay and if she could be of any assistance.

"He'll be fine, Beth. You go on downstairs with the rest. I'm going to be a while. It'll take some time to get these patched up."

She had no other choice but to believe him and leave the room.

—

It must be in Beth's nature to be overly curious. So she slipped out of the house when no one was looking later on in the evening and trudged off through the tall grass and away from the house. She wanted to know what it was that Rick had pulled off of Daryl as they brought him towards the house.

She got closer to where she assumed whatever it was had been tossed onto the ground. She searched around the area, turning her eyes back to the house a few times to make sure that no one had followed her or was watching her. She moved around, eyes peeled for something other than the overgrown grass or weeds.

She shied away from where the blood was. Daryl's blood. Hell, her own blood boiled at the thought of Andrea shooting him by accident. She pushed that aside, though, and focused on what she came out there to do. Hopefully someone would take that gun away from Andrea before she mistook someone else as one of the dead. (It was kind of funny, in a morbid way).

Beth walked away from the small amount of blood that stained the ground. She saw something hidden in the grass as she moved away, walking in the direction she remembered the two men dragging Daryl had gone in. It was hard to see because of the overgrowth so she stooped down into a squat to examine what it was that Rick did not want anyone else to see. That was the only reason Beth could think of as to why he would have disposed of what was on Daryl before he came into the house.

Beth squinted her eyes because there was no way that what she saw was actually there. With her thumb and her pointer finger, she carefully picked it up to bring it out of the grass.

Yup. It was definitely a necklace made of ears.

"Ugh," Beth grimaced.

She straightened her legs back up, rising back out of the tall grass to stand. She held up the necklace into the light to make sure that she was not hallucinating, then laughed at the gory thing that she had in her hand. What could have possibly gone through that man's head to make him want to wear something like that and to want to cut off ears to create it?

Walker ears on a string. How weird.

The newest additions to their farm called the dead by the name of walkers, which is strange to her but she didn't mind the name. It was better than calling them what they really were—dead flesh eating killers who were once living and breathing human beings. Beth's mother was one of them—a walker—along with her brother Shawn. The both of them were locked up in their barn along with more than two dozen other people who were once their friends and neighbors.

Not anymore. Now they were just walkers. Things that wanted to kill and destroy.

Beth pushed the thoughts away because it angered her that her father could not see that they were a threat to everyone on the farm. He would shut her and Maggie down every time they tried to talk some sense into him, to try and reason with him. None of the new group members were to be told about the huge threat they had locked into their barn. Beth wasn't so sure about keeping the secret. It seemed wrong for them to keep this from the new group members. But for now she would, only to keep the peace.

The sun was about to dip below the horizon so Beth started to make her way back to her house to help get dinner ready for everyone. With the necklace bunched up behind her back to keep hidden, her fingers grazed the blades of grass.

Daryl and her were going to have a lot to talk about when he woke up. Because of that thought alone, she smiled.